Thursday, March 4, 2010

Announcing... The Indie Strategy Bundle!

Indie developers Arcen Games, Cryptic Comet, and Positech Games have joined forces to bring strategy fans the ultimate bundle: Gratuitous Space Battles + The Tribe Expansion, Solium Infernum, and AI War + The Zenith Remnant Expansion. This weekend only, the three companies are offering this special package for a mere $49.99 (for the math impaired, it would normally be $90).

“It’s a jungle out there for a lone indie dev: tired, hungry, low on ammunition and surrounded on all sides by AAA monsters and flesh eating zombies, and that’s why I want Cliff and Chris on my side,” says Vic Davis, founder of Cryptic Comet. “I think all three of us share the desire to prove that the little guys can really create some unique games. It’s our business... and business is good.”

“If we were larger companies, and profit-focused, I think we’d view each other as the enemy,” says Chris Park, founder of Arcen Games. “But as tiny indies, that’s just not productive -- time has already shown that there are plenty of fans to go around. We’re here to make innovative games, not corner markets. There’s a lot more for us to gain by working together instead of by being antagonistic.”

“I can't think of three games that go together better, or which appeal to a more distinct group of gamers, than these three,” says Cliff Harris, founder of Positech Games. “The reason for this bundle is clear. We are like the Judean People’s Front from Monty Python. We need to unite against the common enemy, and that enemy is obscurity, not each other.”

Each game in the bundle is a fan favorite, having carved out a unique niche in the strategy genre. Inspired by Milton’s Paradise Lost, Solium Infernum is a turn-based strategy game that pits you against other players as you use diplomacy, deceit and force to claim the Infernal Thrones of Hell. Gratuitous Space Battles turns real time strategy on its head, making the deployment phase of battle into the game itself. AI War is built around a completely unique AI concept, with gameplay best described as grand strategic 4X tower defense RTS (say that five times fast).

Suffice it to say that none of these concepts would have seen the light of day at larger companies, but each expands the genre in novel ways that will likely influence more mainstream strategy titles to come. But most of all, if you’re into strategy these games are fun (and they scratch that special itch in the brains of grognards). The Indie Strategy Bundle is designed to help strategy fans support the originals, while giving themselves a treat if they haven’t yet played these genre-bending gems!